waypoint wealth counsel Acquires Shares of 46 Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

waypoint wealth counsel bought a new position in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 46 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $212,000.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in shares of Booking by 34.9% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 251 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,249,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the period. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Booking in the 4th quarter worth approximately $209,000. Sigma Planning Corp grew its holdings in shares of Booking by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 138 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $686,000 after acquiring an additional 3 shares during the period. Wealthspire Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Booking by 49.5% in the 4th quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC now owns 166 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $825,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the period. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc grew its holdings in shares of Booking by 15.9% in the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 73 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $361,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares during the period. 92.42% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Booking Trading Up 2.8%

Shares of BKNG opened at $5,482.23 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $178.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.41. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $5,213.02 and its 200 day simple moving average is $4,946.78. Booking Holdings Inc. has a twelve month low of $3,180.00 and a twelve month high of $5,639.70.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The business services provider reported $24.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $17.57 by $7.24. The business had revenue of $4.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.58 billion. Booking had a negative return on equity of 143.67% and a net margin of 22.58%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $20.39 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 209.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Friday, June 6th will be given a $9.60 dividend. This represents a $38.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. Booking’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.89%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Booking news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 1,013 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5,356.07, for a total value of $5,425,698.91. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 27,646 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $148,073,911.22. This trade represents a 3.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on BKNG shares. B. Riley increased their target price on Booking from $6,000.00 to $6,100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered their target price on Booking from $5,540.00 to $4,330.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Booking from $5,000.00 to $5,700.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Erste Group Bank cut Booking from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. Finally, JMP Securities increased their target price on Booking from $5,600.00 to $5,700.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Booking currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $5,388.37.

Booking Company Profile

Booking Holdings Inc, formerly The Priceline Group Inc, is a provider of travel and restaurant online reservation and related services. The Company, through its online travel companies (OTCs), connects consumers wishing to make travel reservations with providers of travel services across the world. It offers consumers an array of accommodation reservations (including hotels, bed and breakfasts, hostels, apartments, vacation rentals and other properties) through its Booking.com, priceline.com and agoda.com brands.